SÃO PAULO, BRASIL – Using the theme “Brighter Ideas for Labels,” Sun Chemical will showcase a wide range of innovative ink and coating solutions for the narrow web, tag and label market during Label Latinoamerica 2017. 

Visitors of Sun Chemical’s booth #46 will be introduced to Sun Chemical’s new UV Flexo Technology Platform for food and non-food applications which offers significant productivity advantages over existing systems. Complementing this will be the further extension to its market leading UV flexo white range with the addition of a new fully upgraded sleeve white for high performance sleeve production.

“Our customers want innovative inks and coatings that are reliable and meet their individual needs,” said Alfonso Paredes, Energy Curable and Narrow Web Product Director, Sun Chemical Latin America. “At Label Latinoamerica 2017, visitors of our booth will learn all the ways they can count on the quality of our inks and coatings. They’ll also discover that they can turn to us for other innovative solutions in color management services, brand protection and more.”

UV Flexo White Inks Bring Breakthrough Technology for Narrow Web Printers

Sun Chemical booth visitors will learn about SolarFlex^® Neutron White, a high opacity UV flexo first-down white ink that has been redeveloped from first principles using state of the art technology and manufacturing processes to develop a breakthrough in technical performance. Testing has shown the SolarFlex Neutron White outperforms leading competitive products in terms of opacity, printability and gloss. 

The result is that printers using the SolarFlex Neutron White can use a finer anilox to achieve the same opacity as with a conventional UV flexo white, requiring less ink to achieve the same hiding power. Finer aniloxes also allow the printer to print sharper text and lines while still retaining maximum contrast over the darkest of labeled goods.

SolarFlex Neutron White can print pinhole-free and allows for printing on aluminum substrates in a single layer. The inks are compatible with SolarFlex^®Integra and other UV and EB inks in the Solaris^® System of products on a wide range of narrow web and mid-web presses.

SolarFlex^® Slalom Sleeve White UV flexo white inks will also be on display at the show. Intended for reverse-printing of shrink sleeves or other impervious substrates where slip control is required without the use of a clear varnish, SolarFlex Slalom Sleeve White has been designed for good opacity and printability for maximum covering power. Its good adhesion to a wide range of filmic materials makes the ink highly scratch and rub resistant for efficient sleeving and print protection.

Sun Chemical will also highlight its Rayoflex^® Electron First Down White ink, a UV flexo low migration first-down opaque white ink that offers the flexible film and narrow web printer the capability to print compliant food packaging, pharmaceutical packaging or packaging for other sensitive applications where a risk of migration has been identified. The ink features excellent adhesion to a wide range of substrates, high opacity and printability, excellent receptivity to low migration UV flexo color, as well as good gloss, scratch and scuff resistance.

Meeting the Individual Needs of the Narrow Web, Tag and Label Market

Sun Chemical will have other inks on display from the UV Flexo Technology Platform during the show which will cater to the individual needs and requirements of narrow web, tag and label printers. The SolarFlex^® Integra inks, for example, have been designed for label, sleeve and packaging markets that have no requirement for migration-compliant food packaging.

Primarily for surface printing on flexible films and labels where migration-compliant food packaging is required, the new SolarFlex^® FSP offers a significant upgrade on previous migration-compliant, UV flexo product ranges.

Produced from a new platform of pigment concentrates, both ink ranges benefit from increased color intensity and density while maintaining the consistent rheology across the range of colors. As they are produced from a single range of concentrates, switching from SolarFlex Integra to SolarFlex FSP can be done without affecting the colors achieved on-press.

Adhesion onto impervious substrates and hold-out on absorbent substrates have also both been significantly improved, broadening the range of substrates that can be used with both SolarFlex Integra and SolarFlex FSP.

Sun Chemical will also showcase SunCure^® Starluxe, a highly versatile range of UV curable lithographic inks that are designed for the outer surface printing of carton board and foil boards, selected plastics, and non-absorbent substrates. SunCure Starluxe is also designed for the printing of labels, sleeves, tags and tickets.

Usable for in-line or off-line coating, foil stamping and lamination, SunCure Starluxe inks offer excellent dot gain and trapping properties for high print quality with the ability for reversed out print, and have an extensive range of color, including resistant colors.